Labelless, rolled food item and its fabrication

ABSTRACT

A rolled food item ( 110 ) is fabricated by rolling a strip of support material ( 16 ) and food ( 14 ) about its leading end ( 136 ) into a roll. Prior to its rolling into the roll, a deposit ( 144 ) of water is sprayed onto the food ( 14 ) adjacent to the trailing end ( 138 ) to increase the tackiness of the food ( 14 ) sufficient to be adherable to the support material ( 16 ) in the roll to at least temporarily prevent unintentional unrolling of the roll during later fabrication operations. In the preferred form, the trailing end of the deposit ( 144 ) is coextensive with the trailing end ( 138 ) of the strip of support material ( 16 ) and food ( 14 ). In one form, the side edges of the deposit ( 144 ) are spaced inwardly from the side edges of the food ( 14 ) which are spaced inwardly from the side edges of the support material ( 16 ).

BACKGROUND

[0001] The present invention generally relates to food items,particularly to rolled food items, more particularly to coils of foodsupported on support material, and specifically to rolled food items orthe like at least temporarily retained in a coiled condition without theuse of a label during its fabrication.

[0002] The sale of snack-type food products is a highly competitivebusiness. In addition to the particular food components, increasinglythe novelty and play value of the product are important in themarketability of any particular food item. For example, fruit-basedsnack products such as FRUIT ROLL-UPS™ fruit products have found widemarket acceptance. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,175 recognized theenhanced marketability of chewing gum in the form of a rolled-up tapeallowing the consumer the chance to break off the desired size of pieceto chew, saving the rest for later.

[0003] Many foods such as dehydrated fruit puree do not lend themselvesto forming rolled food items such as where the food is in a strip of athinness generally requiring external support and/or where the foodtends to stick to itself such that it creates a single mass which cannot be unrolled. In such cases, support material and food supportedthereon are rolled into a coil creating a novelty form of merchandisingfor that food. For example, FRUIT BY THE FOOT™ fruit products of thetype disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,455,053 and 5,723,163 have enhancedplay value which is believed to promote the marketability thereof.

[0004] During the fabrication of rolled food items, provisions have tobe made to prevent the food item from unrolling during fabrication suchas in the wrapping and other packaging operations. A prior preferredmethod to prevent undesired unrolling is the application of a labelextending over the trailing edge of the support material. In addition toits functional aspects, the labels used to hold the rolled food items ina coiled condition can add to the novelty and play value of the rolledfood item. Particularly, the label often includes graphics which arevisually appealing to the typical consumer of the food of the rolledfood item and/or which promote the future purchase of the rolled fooditem. However, problems arose from the labels which had not beenappropriately discarded after their removal from the rolled food itembeing difficult to remove when adhered to surfaces such as desk tops.One solution to this problem was to provide novel labels for such rolledfood items such as of the type disclosed in U.S. patent application.Ser. No. 08/888,803 filed Jul. 7, 1997, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

[0005] Another prior method to prevent unintentional unrolling is toutilize an edible adhesive such as corn syrup. However, corn syrup andsimilar adhesives have certain negatives including being an additive tothe food which could affect its taste, texture, and/or appearance, beingmessy while eating and also during application and fabrication and beinggenerally difficult to work with.

[0006] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to providenovel apparatus and methods for fabrication of a novel rolled food itemwhich, in the preferred form, is retained at least temporarily in acoiled condition during fabrication such as in the wrapping and otherpackaging operations without the use of a label and which overcomes thenegatives associated with the use of corn syrup and similar foodadhesives.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to allow the retentionof the rolled food item in a coiled condition without the use of a labeland without significant change to existing fabrication equipment and itsoperating conditions.

SUMMARY

[0008] Surprisingly, the above objectives and other problems can besatisfied in the field of rolled food items and their fabrication byproviding, in the preferred form, a first portion of the food adjacentthe trailing edge having a moisture content greater than the remainingportions of the food and sufficient to increase the tackiness of thefood to be adherable to the support material to retain the supportmaterial and food in a roll and to at least temporarily preventunintentional unrolling of the roll during fabrication of the rolledfood item.

[0009] In the preferred form, the first portion of the food is formed byspraying a source of moisture, and in the most preferred form a foodgrade water free of adhesive type additives, onto the food adjacent tothe trailing edge prior to its rolling into the roll.

[0010] The present invention will become clearer in light of thefollowing detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of thisinvention described in connection with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The illustrative embodiment may best be described by reference tothe accompanying drawings where:

[0012]FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a strip of support material andfood according to the preferred teachings of the present invention, withportions broken away.

[0013]FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of the strip of supportmaterial and food of FIG. 1 rolled into a roll to form a rolled fooditem.

[0014]FIGS. 3a and 3 b show diagramatic side elevational views of theapparatus for rolling the strip of support material and food of FIG. 1to form the rolled food item of FIG. 2.

[0015] All figures are drawn for ease of explanation of the basicteachings of the present invention only; the extensions of the figureswith respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of theparts to form the preferred embodiment will be explained or will bewithin the skill of the art after the following description has beenread and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensionalproportions to conform to specific force, weight, strength, and similarrequirements will likewise be within the skill of the art after thefollowing description has been read and understood.

[0016] Where used in the various figures of the drawings, the samenumerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when theterms “first”, “second”, “edge”, “end”, “transverse”, “longitudinal”,“width”, “length”, “height”, “inner”, “outer”, “leading”, “trailing”,and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that theseterms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as itwould appear to a person viewing the drawings and are utilized only tofacilitate describing the illustrative embodiment.

DESCRIPTION

[0017] A rolled food item according to the preferred teachings of thepresent invention is shown in the drawings and generally designated 110.In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, rolled fooditem 110 is an improvement of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667; 5,455,053 and 5,723,163. For purpose ofexplanation of the basic teachings of the present invention, the samenumerals designate the same or similar parts in the present figures andthe figures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667; 5,455,053 and5,723,163. The description of the common numerals and rolled food item110 may be found herein and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667;5,455,053 and 5,723,163, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

[0018] Generally, rolled food item 110 includes strips of food 14 andsupport material 16 simultaneously rolled about its leading edge or end136 into a coil. Food 14 is of a thinness requiring external support bysupport material 16. In the most preferred form, food 14 is a sweeteneddehydrated fruit-based material typically referred to in the art as afruit leather which can be derived from fruit purees and in the mostpreferred form is of the same type as utilized in the first, solid or“hard” portion or region of the dual textured food piece described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,847,098 issued Jul. 11, 1989 to J. E. Langler and inU.S. Pat. No. 4,853,236 issued Aug. 1, 1989 to J. E. Langler, eachentitled Dual Textured Food Piece of Enhanced Stability and each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0019] Support material 16 may be formed of any suitable material suchas silicon parchment paper which has the necessary strength to supportfood 14 without tearing and without bulkiness to allow rolling of food14 and support material 16 into a compact food piece and which allowsfood 14 to be easily separated therefrom for consumption.

[0020] In the preferred form, the strip of food 14 has side edges spacedinwardly from the side edges of the strip of support material 16 and inthe most preferred form are spaced in the order of one sixteenth inch(1.6 mm) inwardly from the side edges of the strip of support-material16. Depending upon the method of fabrication, spacing the strip of food14 inward of the side edges of the strip of support material 16 isadvantageous as food 14 has less tendency to rub against the fabricationequipment which is undesirable as the side edges of the strip of food 14could acquire an unsightly or otherwise undesirable appearance and asfood 14 could build up or otherwise collect on the fabrication equipmentrequiring extra cleaning and maintenance. In the preferred form, thestrip of food 14 does not extend beyond the leading end 136 and trailingedges or ends 138 of the strip of support material 16 and in the mostpreferred form has a length equal to the length of the strip of supportmaterial 16 so that leading and trailing ends 136 and 138 of the stripof food 14 are coextensive with leading and trailing ends 136 and 138 ofthe strip of support material 16. Specifically, in the most preferredform, the strips of food 14 and support material 16 are formedcontinuously and are simultaneously cut to length such as by a waterknife. In the preferred form, the width of the strip of support material16 is minimal relative to its length and in the most preferred form, thestrip of support material 16 has a width in the order of one andone-eighth inch (2.9 cm) and a length in the order of 36 inches (1meter).

[0021] The strips of food 14 and support material 16 are rolled aroundtheir leading edges or ends 136 into the coil having multiple rotationswith the strip of support material 16 located on the outside of the rollor coil and with trailing edge 138 of the strips of food 14 and supportmaterial 16 located on the outside or periphery of the roll or coil. Inthe most preferred form, when the strips of food 14 and support material16 are rolled, the periphery of the coil or roll is in the order of fourand five-eighths inches (11.7 cm).

[0022] In the production of rolled food item 110, generally one or morestrips of food 14 and support material 16 are transported in a generallyplanar condition such as on a conveyor 140 towards a roll-up section 76.It can be appreciated that strips of food 14 and support material 16 canbe formed-in a variety of manners according to the teachings of thepresent invention including but not limited to the type disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667; 5,455,053 and 5,723,163. Similarly,roll-up section 76 can be of a variety of forms according to theteachings of the present invention including but not limited to the typeutilizing a reciprocable, rotatable tuning fork disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667; 5,455,053 and 5,723,163.

[0023] According to the teachings of the present invention, rather thanproviding a labeler and a label smasher as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,205,106;5,284,667; 5,455,053 and 5,723,163, one or more spray nozzles 142 areprovided vertically above and spaced from conveyor 140 and spaced in amanner to not physically contact the strips of food 14 and supportmaterial 16 on conveyor 140 and upstream of roll-up section 76.According to the teachings of the present invention, nozzles 142 spray asource of moisture in the preferred form of a liquid consisting of foodgrade water. In the preferred form, the water is free of adhesive typeadditives such as corn syrup and in the most preferred form is free ofall additives.

[0024] In a preferred form, a fewer number of nozzles 142 are providedthan the number of strips of food 14 and support material 16, with eachnozzle 142 spraying a source of moisture over more than one strip offood 14 and support material 16. In this regard, four nozzles 142 couldbe provided to spray ten strips of food 14 and support material 16. Inother forms, a separate nozzle 142 can be associated and transverselyaligned with each strip of food 14 and support material 16. In suchpreferred forms, each nozzle 142 can have a spray pattern having atransverse width less than the width of the strip of-support material16, preferably less than the width of the strip of food 14, and mostpreferably approximately two thirds the width of the strip of food 14.

[0025] According to the teachings of the present invention, operation ofeach nozzle 142 is not continuous, but rather nozzles 142 spray adeposit 144 adjacent to trailing end 138 of the strips of food 14 andsupport material 16 and in the most preferred form with deposit 144having a trailing end coextensive with the trailing end 138 of thestrips of food 14 and support material 16, with deposit 144 extendingupstream from trailing end 138. Deposit 144 which defines a firstportion has a relatively short length considerably shorter than theremaining, second portion of the strips of food 14 and support material16 and than the total elongated length of the strips of food 14 andsupport material 16, with deposit 144 in the most preferred form beinggenerally 10% of the elongated length of the strips of food 14 andsupport material 16. In the preferred form shown, deposit 144 has sideedges spaced inwardly from and parallel to the side edges of food 14.According to the teachings of the present invention, the remainingsecond portions of the strips of food 14 and support material 16 (otherthan deposit 144) are free of spray liquid. In this regard and in themost preferred form, air is blown through nozzles 142 after supply ofthe spray liquid has been terminated to nozzles 142 to remove anydroplets of spray liquid that have remained in the tip of nozzles 142 toinsure that such droplets fall in deposit 144 and not after leading edge136 of the next strip of food 14 and support material 16.

[0026] Food 14 as processed during fabrication has a moisture contentwhich enhances its shelf life, and particularly has a moisture contentwhich does not result in food 14 undesirably degrading during normalstorage times before consumption. With this moisture content, food 14has a tackiness which may adhere to support material 16 when rolled intoa roll but typically which is insufficient to prevent unintentionalunrolling during further fabrication processes such as wrapping andother packaging operations. However, food 14 within deposit 144 has anincreased moisture content so that food 14 becomes sticky or in otherwords has an increased tackiness sufficient to adhere to supportmaterial 16 in the roll to prevent unintentional unrolling of the rollat least temporarily during further fabrication processes. In the mostpreferred form, food 14 is fabricated in a continual process and has aconstant consistency (aside from moisture content) between the leadingand trailing ends 136 and 138. In this regard, food 14 itself adheres tosupport material 16 and specifically food 14 does not include anadditive or adhesive which secures food 14 to support material 16.

[0027] The strips of food 14 and support material 16 including deposit144 can be rolled in roll-up section 76 in the conventional manner sothat support material 16 is located on the outside of the roll, trailingedge 138 is located on the periphery of the roll, and leading edge 136is located adjacent the center of the roll and in the most preferredform, with the strip of support material 16 and food 14 being rolledaround leading end 136 which is cut and into a roll having multiplerotations. According to the teachings of the present invention, deposit144 will cause food 14 adjacent to trailing end 138 to adhere to supportmaterial 16 on the underlying wind of rolled food item 110 andspecifically without requiring the use of a label. It should beappreciated that roll-up section 76 can include a pressure plate such asof the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,205,106; 5,284,667; 5,455,053and 5,723,163 to place pressure upon and to adhere food 14 of increasedtackiness within deposit 144 to support material 16 to thus secure thestrip of food 14 and support material 16 in a rolled or coiled conditionduring later fabrication steps such as in wrapping and other packagingoperations.

[0028] The spray liquid should be applied by nozzles 142 in deposits 144in an amount so that food 14 develops sufficient tackiness to beadherable to the strip of support material 16. Specifically, theadhesion of food 14 on support material 16 depends on the viscoelasticand the surface tension properties of food 14. Support material 16 issilicone coated in the most preferred form to achieve just enoughcohesive bond between food 14 and support material 16, such that theformer remains attached to the later during processing and storage.However, food 14 peels easily off support material 16 for consumption.Studies with adhesive-strength of synthetic films showed that the higherthe wettability of the film, the greater the adhesive strength betweenthe product and the film. The normal water activity of food 14 does notallow support material 16 (whose wettability has been reduced bysilicone coating in the preferred form) to adhere to trailing edge 138of food 14 during the formation of rolled food item 110. According tothe teachings of the present invention, the water activity of food 14within deposit 144 at trailing edge 138 was increased by the applicationof the spray liquid just before rolling in roll-up section 76. Becauseof the viscoelastic nature of food 14, the pressure applied in roll-upsection 76 to trailing edge 138 of rolled food item 110 helps in theadhesion of deposit 144 of food 14 to the body of the roll. It wasobserved that too much moisture in food 14 also decreases the adhesioncharacteristics of food 14.

[0029] In this regard, a method was devised to measure the adhesionstrength of the formed rolled food item 110. A texture analyzer, ModelXT2, made by Stable Micro Systems, England was used for this purpose.The sample holder consisted of an aluminum rod hinged between twoclamps, which in turn were attached to a wooden base. The whole assemblywas attached to the texture analyzer in such a way that the rod ispositioned horizontally, crossways to the operator, directly beneath theprobe of the texture. analyzer. A sample rolled food item 110 wascollected as soon as rolled food item 110 was formed in roll-up section76. A 1.2 cm by 1.2 cm VELCRO sticky back square was gently taped torolled food item 110 in such a way that trailing edge 138 of supportmaterial 16 aligns with an edge of the square. Rolled food item 110 wasslipped into the aluminum rod and was placed in contact with the probeof texture analyzer already equipped with a complementary VELCRO stickyback square. The rod was then secured between the clamps, and thetensile strength required to peel trailing edge 138 of rolled food item110 was recorded. The separation speed of the probe was set at 2 mm/sec.

[0030] For proper adhesion of trailing edge 138 of the strip of supportmaterial 16 and food 14 to the roll body, a minimum adhesive strength of42 grams-force/cm², measured through the peel off test as describedabove, was required. An adhesive strength of 100 to 300 grams-force/cm²was found to be optimum. A water activity above 0.59 in deposit 144gives proper adhesion of rolled food item 110. However, a water activityabove 0.64 results in less tacky products. The optimal range therefore,is 0.59-0.64 water activity for food 14 after the application of thespray liquid.

[0031] It should be appreciated that after fabrication has beencompleted, the spray liquid within deposit 144 over time may decreasesuch as the result of evaporation or dispersion throughout the remainingportions of food 14 to be of an amount to reduce its tackiness, even toan amount which is insufficient to adhere food 14 to the strip ofsupport material 16. However, the forces which would tend tounintentionally unroll rolled food item 110 is considerably less afterfabrication. In fact after fabrication, reduction of tackiness maydesirably increase the ease at which rolled food item 110 can beinitially, intentionally unrolled by the consumer. Additionally, theevaporation and/or dispersion of the spray liquid from deposit 144 isalso advantageous in the reduction of the possibility of the degradationof food 14 in deposit 144 as the result of the increased moisturecontent including but not limited to molding. In this regard, it-shouldbe appreciated that if nozzles 142 were operated continuously or in amanner to spray substantial portions of the strip of food 14 and supportmaterial 16 in an amount to develop adhering tackiness, the shelf lifeof the resulting rolled food item could be significantly reduced to anextent which would make it unmarketable.

[0032] Rolled food item 110 according to the teachings of the presentinvention is advantageous over prior rolled food items. In particular,the strip of food 14 and support material 16 is contacted only by aspray and in particular is not mechanically contacted such as requiredduring the application of labels. Further, in the most preferred form,only water is added and particularly no other food ingredient such ascorn syrup is added which could affect the consistency, taste orappearance of food 14. Additionally, problems in the handling of cornsyrup or like food additives including clogging additive passages andstickiness when contacting other surfaces and apparatus componentsincluding the cleaning thereof is avoided when water is utilized. Infact, existing fabrication equipment can be easily modified by thesimple replacement of the labeler and associate label applyingaccessories or other fabrication unrolling prevention provisions withnozzles 142. In the preferred form with only water being sprayed,clogging and cleaning requirements of nozzles 142 are minimized incomparison to the problems associated with moving and cleaning corn,syrup or similar food adhesives. Additionally, the fabrication andinventory costs for labels as well as the capital costs associated withthe fabrication and application of such labels are avoided. Thus,existing fabrication equipment and its operating conditions can beutilized without significant change and in many cases with more troublefree operation.

[0033] Now that the basic teachings of the present invention have beenexplained, many extensions and variations will be obvious to one havingordinary skill in the art. For example, although the operation of spraynozzles 142 is shown while the strip of food 14 and support material 16is being rolled adjacent to its leading end 136, deposit 144 can beprovided at any position upstream of roll-up section 76 including whilethe strip of food 14 and support material 16 is generally in a planarcondition according to the teachings of the present invention.Similarly, although the operation of spray nozzles 142 is shown whilethe strip of food 14 and support material 16 is of its marketablelength, deposit 144 can be sprayed on food 14 and support material 16prior to cutting into multiple strips and/or cutting to length accordingto the teachings of the present invention when food 14 is continuouslyapplied to continuous roll stock of support material 16.

[0034] Thus since the invention disclosed herein may be embodied inother specific forms without departing from the spirit or generalcharacteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, theembodiments described herein are to be considered in all respectsillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to beindicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

1. Method for fabricating a rolled food item, comprising the steps of:providing a strip of support material and food, with the strip ofsupport material and food having a trailing edge and a leading edge,with the food having a tackiness; rolling the strip of support materialand food into a roll having a periphery and a center, with the supportmaterial located on the outside of the roll, with the trailing edgelocated on the periphery of the roll and with the leading edge locatedadjacent the center of the roll; and spraying a deposit of a source ofmoisture at least on the food adjacent to the trailing edge prior to itsrolling into the roll, with the source of moisture increasing thetackiness of the food sufficient to be adherable to the support materialin the roll to at least temporarily prevent unintentional unrolling ofthe roll.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the strip providing stepcomprises the step of providing the strip of support material and foodhaving an elongated length between the trailing and leading edges; andwherein the spraying step comprises the step of spraying the deposit ofa length considerably shorter than the elongated length of the strip ofsupport material and food.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the sprayingstep comprises the step of spraying the deposit with the lengthapproximately 10% of the elongated length of the strip of supportmaterial and food.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the spraying stepcomprises the step of spraying the deposit with a food grade water freeof adhesive type additives.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein the stripproviding step comprises the steps of providing a strip of supportmaterial having side edges and providing food having side edges spacedinwardly from the-side edges of the strip-of support material.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the spraying step comprises the step ofspraying the deposit having side edges spaced inwardly from the sideedges of the food.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step ofproviding food comprises the step of providing a strip of food with theleading and trailing edges of the strip of food being coextensive withthe leading and trailing edges of the strip of support material.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the spraying step comprises the step ofspraying the deposit having a trailing edge coextensive with thetrailing edge of the strip of food.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein thestrip providing step comprises the step providing food in the form of asweetened dehydrated fruit based material.
 10. The method of claim 9wherein the strip providing step comprises the step of providing thestrip of support material in the form of silicon parchment paper. 11.Apparatus for fabricating a rolled food item, comprising, incombination: means for providing a strip of support material and food,with the strip of support material and food having a trailing edge and aleading edge, with the food having a tackiness; means for rolling thestrip of support material and food into a roll having a periphery and acenter, with the support material located on the outside of the roll,with the trailing edge located on the periphery of the roll and with theleading edge located adjacent the center of the-roll; means for sprayinga deposit of a source of moisture at least on the food adjacent to thetrailing edge prior to its rolling into the roll, with the source ofmoisture increasing the tackiness of the food sufficient to be adherableto the support material in the roll to at least temporarily preventunintentional unrolling of the roll.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11wherein the strip of support material and food has an elongated lengthbetween the trailing and leading edges; and wherein the deposit has alength considerably shorter than the elongated length of the strip ofsupport material and food.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein thestrip of support material and food comprises the strip of supportmaterial having side edges and a strip of food having side edges spacedinwardly of the side edges of the strip of support material, with theleading and trailing edges of the strip of food being coextensive withthe leading and trailing edges of the strip of support material, withthe deposit having side edges spaced inwardly from the side edges of thestrip of food and having a trailing edge coextensive with the trailingedge of the strip of food.
 14. Rolled food item comprising, incombination: a strip of support material and food, with the strip ofsupport material and food having a trailing edge and a leading edge,with the strip of support material and food being rolled in a rollhaving a periphery and a center, with the support material located onthe outside of the roll, with the trailing edge located on the peripheryof the roll, with the leading edge located adjacent the center of theroll, with the food having a first portion adjacent the trailing edgeand a second portion of a substantially longer length than the firstportion, with the first portion of the food having a moisture contentgreater than the moisture content of the second portion and so that thetackiness of the food is sufficient to adhere to the support material inthe roll to at least temporarily prevent unintentional unrolling of theroll.
 15. The rolled food item of claim 14 wherein the first portion hasa length approximately 10% of the length of the strip of supportmaterial and food between the trailing and leading edges.
 16. The rolledfood item of claim 15 wherein the food has side edges spaced inwardlyfrom the side edges of the strip of support material and with the firstportion having side edges spaced inwardly from the side edges of thefood.
 17. The rolled food item of claim 16 wherein the food comprises astrip of food having leading and trailing edges coextensive with theleading and trailing edges of the strip of the support material, withthe first portion having a trailing edge coextensive with the trailingedge of the strip of food.
 18. The rolled food item of claim 17 whereinthe food is in the form of a sweetened dehydrated fruit based material.19. The rolled food item of claim 18 wherein the support material is inthe form of silicon parchment paper.
 20. The rolled food item of claim17 wherein the strip of food has the same consistency between thetrailing and leading edges aside from increased moisture content in thefirst portion.